Apr 2, 2014

Exciting news for users of modern Windows at BUILD 2014! Microsoft has decided to bring back the Start menu in Windows in a future update, in an attempt to make the operating system more appropriate for desktop computers.

Microsoft’s Terry Myerson confirmed at the show that the Start menu will return sometime in the future, but he refused to provide any specifics on when exactly this is going to happen. As you can see in the screenshot posted above and shown during his keynote, the new Start menu will mix the classic design with a modern touch, showing both the list of installed apps, as well as live tiles. The main power options are still there, so you can easily shut down or reboot your computer.

The same screenshot shows that users will be allowed to launch Metro apps in their very own windows, which means that the company is working to mix the Modern UI and the desktop in a future update. Previous reports indicated that such a change could take place in Windows 9, but Myerson hasn’t mentioned anything else besides “a future Windows update,” so expect these improvements to be released to users sometime this year, maybe as part of a second major update for Windows 8.1.